Bryce Harper Rumors: Dodgers Still The Favorites To Land Slugger? Nationals, Others May Have A Better Offer Than LA

In this unusual free agent market, the two most coveted free agents are still on the market and no deal appears to be imminent. Bryce Harper remains unsigned despite numerous suitors shedding payroll to potentially land him.

Many observers expected the Los Angeles Dodgers to be frontrunners to sign Harper after a Dec. 22 trade that sent Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and Kyle Farmer to the Cincinnati Reds. The deal saved the Dodgers millions in payroll and created a vacancy in right field and middle of the batting order.

All signs seemed to point to an impending deal.

Even prior to the trade, the Dodgers seemed like one of the favorites to land Harper, a 26-year-old power hitter who was expected to command a contract over $300 million.

The Dodgers, consistently among the payroll leaders since being bought by Guggenheim Partners in 2014, seemed to have little interest in bringing back the other top free agent, Manny Machado, leaving Harper as the only high-priced free agent. Los Angeles was also looking to make a splash after coming up short in consecutive World Series.

Meanwhile, Harper in 2016 bought a 7,400-square-foot home near his hometown of Las Vegas, which is a short private jet ride to Los Angeles. He even clicked "like" in an Instagram post linking him to the Dodgers and just two days after the Dodgers dealt away outfielders.

So why hasn't Harper joined the Dodgers? The Dodgers seem to be keeping mum about their intentions, though reports suggest they have talked to Harper's agent Scott Boras about a higher salary and fewer years.

According to Bob Nightengale of the USA Today, Harper would lean towards the Dodgers if the offers with other teams were close, but Nightengale noted that the Dodgers "haven’t publicly declared they will even make a short-term offer."

Adding to the intrigue for the Dodgers is that the Washington Nationals reportedly have already made an offer well above $300 million. The Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox and even the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals may still be in the hunt to get Harper.

As Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times put it, "the Dodgers are looking for a shorter deal, that’s fine. But they should be prepared to pay accordingly."

Questions could surround Dodgers' team president Andrew Friedman if he doesn't acquire Harper. At the moment, the Dodgers have a worse roster than 2018 because of a cost-cutting move to sign a top free agent. If Harper signs with another team, the Dodgers might have to trade prospects for Nick Castellanos of the Detroit Tigers, which would be considered a curious consolation prize for missing out on Harper.